Breathe the Past
by Navilain
Summary: While returning to Kyoto after a grueling battle with Shishio, a familiar face from Kenshin's past joins their company.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** The characters in this story (Excluding Amaya) do not belong to me, they belong to Nobuiro Watsuki.

Author's Note: Please bear with any anachronisms in the storyline of the anime/manga or the history and culture. I started writing this over five years ago before knowing anything past the Kyoto arc. I only just got around to editing and finishing the story, and did my best to fix errors, but there are bound to be some.

***

The sun cast a reddish glow as it set in the distance. One silhouette could be seen walking to the city of Kyoto. After a long fight with Shishio, the two, Himora Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke, would finally be able to return home.

It was an excruciating fight. However, in the end, Shishio was ultimately defeated by his own body, which had overheated because of the severe burns he received in the past. While Kenshin managed to keep his oath not to kill, Hajime Saitoh was lost to the heat of purgatory's flames.

Sano walked silently to Kyoto, carrying Kenshin's unconscious body, when he stopped suddenly. He had heard something, and he was trying to locate where it came from. Then he heard it again: the clank of two swords colliding. Without hesitation, he ran towards the noise. He reached a clearing in the forest just in time to see a man fall to the ground. There was a cloaked figure on the opposite side of the clearing, sheathing a sword.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Sano shouted at the figure with an angry voice.

"Excuse me?" The voice sounded. The man was surprised to hear a woman's voice. "First, he attacked me, I was defending myself. Second, he is not dead, just unconscious." She kept her cloak on and her back to Kenshin and Sanosuke.

"You can turn around, I won't hurt you." Sano said to the woman's back.

"If you're not going to hurt me, then why are you still clenching your fists?" The woman asked calmly. Sano noticed she was correct. His hands instinctively tightened into fists out of reflex; he relaxed them and let them hang by his sides. Shortly after he did this, she turned around, keeping her face hidden in her cloak.

"What are your names?" She asked Sano, motioning towards the small, collapsed man.

"This is Himora Kenshin." Sano replied while pointing towards Kenshi. "And my name is Sagara Sanosuke."

"Himora…" The woman thought aloud, removing her hood and revealing her face. "The Battousai? Yes! It is, I remember the hair. My name is Amaya. Amaya Kin Kamai."

"Kamai? Never heard of you!"

"Well, of course not," Amaya nodded and smiled slightly at the sight of Kenshin and walked towards him.

"Hey, not so fast, where do you think you're going?" Sano stepped between her and Kenshin's body.

"Oh, pardon me, I should have told you," She said calmly. "My brother worked with Kenshin during the revolution, we were all friends."

"Oh, well, I'm sure he'd be happy to see you, but he just got out of a rough fight," Sano said, leaning down to lift Kenshin. "I should get going; we have some folks waiting for us. You're welcome to join us; Kenshin'd probably like to see you when he comes to."

Amaya nodded, and began to walk with Sano, when she suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged Sano along as she ran.

"Hey, what the hell?!" Sano shouted, keeping pace with Amaya.

"We must hurry!" She shouted, "When I was passing through Kyoto, I saw a group of thugs headed towards a hotel, the Aoiya. I would have stayed to help, but I knew that man was following me, and had to get to a secluded area so no one would get hurt."

Sano's face when white and his expression serious as he ran faster than he already was. Amaya sprinted forward to catch up to Sano, who was picking up speed. It was dark and the Aoiya was in shambles when they reached it. The battles were over, and the Juppongatana had been defeated.

"Thank you, Master," Kenshin mumbled in his unconscious state, and everyone looked at him, hopefully.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru shrieked happily with wide eyes, but her happiness faded when he wouldn't wake. "Who's this?"

"This is Amaya Kamai, little missy," Sano said. "She and her brother knew Kenshin in the revolution. I ran into her on my way to Kyoto, and she told us that the Aoiya was in danger." Kaoru narrowed her eyes at Kenshin and Amaya.

"It's getting dark, Miss Kamai, maybe you should be heading to your home. Yahiko will walk with you." Kaoru said forcefully and almost untrustingly, to Amaya.

"What?" Yahiko whined, "Kaoru, why can't you walk her home!"

"Well, actually," Amaya said, slowly. "I don't have any place to stay, would it be too much of a bother to stay here? I'd like to make sure Kenshin is okay, it's been so many years since I saw him. When he's conscious, that is." Amaya narrowed her eyes slightly at Kaoru, who crossed her arms.

"Of course you can stay, right Gramps?" Misao shouted with a huge grin. Okina nodded towards the young girl, who was walking inside the building. "You can stay here as long as you'd like. Any friend of Himora's is a friend of ours!"

"I'm going to send word to Megumi, she must be worried sick about our Kenshin. She'll want to help," Kaoru said, changing the subject and eager to get away from the woman, who was making her jealous. She began to walk away, as the others went inside the Aoiya.

'Why am I letting her get under my skin,' Kaoru thought to herself. 'She's just an old friend, that's it.' No matter what she told herself, Kaoru couldn't shake her uncomfortable sense of foreboding.


	2. The Waiting

This took a longer to write than I intended because I've been busy packing and moving. I tried to make this as close to the actual series as I could, event wise, but naturally some things had to be tweaked and changed because of the new character addition.

***

Days dragged by slowly as Kenshin remained unconscious. Takani Megumi rushed to Kyoto as soon as she could to take care of Kenshin. Everyone took time out of the day to spend time with him, Amaya preferred to visit at night, aware that Kaoru was uncomfortable around her.

"It's been a long time, Kenshin," Amaya whispered to the unconscious man, placing her hand on his forehead. The moonlight danced across the floor as Amaya sat at Kenshin's side. "I remember the last time I saw you. You and Keiji were discussing a job, while sparring—wooden swords, Keiji insisted, in case things got out of hand. Do you remember?

"I was on my way back from town, and some lowlifes were following me home and harassing me. You helped me get rid of them, gave me the sword, and showed me some moves to help defend myself." Gently, Amaya moved her hand from his forehead to hold his hand and smiled to herself.

"You left shortly after, emotionless as usual, but I knew. I knew that deep-down you cared. That you wanted to make sure I was safe, I just never said anything. I...I always hoped that if you'd change your ways," Amaya paused as she bit her lip. "It was silly, really."

"Oh Kenshin," Kaoru's voice rang from outside the Shirobeko. The door creaked slightly as it opened, letting more moonlight in. "Amaya..." She said with surprise in her voice and narrowed her eyes at the other woman who was retracting her hand from Kenshin's.

"Looks like neither of could sleep," Amaya gave a friendly smile, and excused herself. She walked past Kaoru towards the exit, feeling Kaoru's eyes on her back until she left for her room.

Amaya sighed as she slid the door shut, and paced the area between the far wall and the door. Eventually, she sat against the far wall, leaned her head against it, and dozed off. As always, the memories rushed in, filling Amaya's mind. However, the flashes were different than the usual bittersweet ones. She was there; witnessing, experiencing, feeling.

His eyes were fierce and unrelenting, and Amaya heard herself give a bloodcurdling scream before falling to the ground. Suddenly, her perspective changed and she watched her own death. Her body lay limply in a pool of her own blood, broken.

"Miss Kamai?" Questioned a resonating yet familiar voice from the sky. Amaya was now kneeling at a grave, but not her own. She felt the tears well up, and couldn't contain them. They began to flow freely and openly.

"Miss Kamai!" The mysterious voice rang out again, but stronger. When Amaya opened her eyes, she realized that she had been dreaming.

"Miss Kamai, are you alright?" Kenshin's kind eyes showed worry as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You were screaming, that you were."

"K...Kenshin?" Amaya paused, needing time to separate her nightmares from reality. "You're awake!"

"He sure is!" Sano shouted as he strolled in with Kaoru, Yahiko, and the others; who had been celebrating at the Shirobeko.

"Are you sure you're alright, Miss Kamai?" Kenshin asked the woman, who avoided the question with a simple smile.

"Who as Kana?" Kaoru asked sincerely about the name Amaya had shouted. "Was that your brother?"

"No," Amaya paused. "He was...just an old acquaintance, that is all. Please, don't let me ruin your party. I really should try to get some sleep, I was thinking of leaving for Tokyo tomorrow."

'No way!" Yahiko cheered, as Sano poured her some sake.

"You need to celebrate with us," Sano grinned. "We're headed to Tokyo too, you should wait to leave, and come with us! I bet you could tell us stories about Kenshin!" Megumi lifted an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes towards Sano and Amaya.

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to impose upon Miss Kaoru," Amaya stood up and smiled.

"I'm sure the Missy would be fine with it," Sano turned to face Kaoru, who seemed speechless. "Right Kaoru?"

"Well," She said, nervously, "I suppose you can stay with us for awhile, but don't expect to mooch off of me, you'll have to work. Sanosuke mooches enough for both of you."

Amaya nodded, and agreed to stay with the group. She accepted the sake that Sano had poured and drank it, watching the festivities from the corner, which lasted all hours of the night, until everyone had fallen asleep.


	3. Insight

*Life's got me busy and is kicking my butt, will try to post more regularly! I also don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any characters except Amaya, Keiji, and Kana. Also, how come everything seems so much longer in word/my notebook? =P*

Shortly after everyone had fallen asleep, Amaya stood and glanced among her new friends. 'Could this be true?' She thought to herself, smiling warmly. Everybody here was so close, like a family. Was it possible for her to join them, in time?

She shook the thought from her mind. 'Mustn't get ahead of myself, it will probably never happen" she perused, as she quietly slid the door open and walked below the peaceful stars. The gravel on the road crushed melodically beneath her feet as she sauntered to clear her mind. After twenty to thirty minutes, she decided to turn back towards the Aoiya, and faced a small figure.

"Miss Kamai," Kenshin spoke softly and fondly, "What brings you out here at this time of night? It's dangerous, that it is!" He smiled at the woman.

"Just needed some air and to clear my mind a bit..." She trailed off and glanced at the starry sky. "It's such a nice night."

"That it is." Kenshin reached for Amaya's hand to stop her from walking away. "You had a nightmare earlier, it bothered you but you did not say why. I know it wasn't nothing. Please, tell me."

"I always get that nightmare. A few years ago, Keiji, he...he..." She hesitated and turned away from her old friend.

"Was it Kana? The man's name you shouted? Did something happen?" Kenshin inquired gently.

"During the revolution," She began, turning back to face Kenshin, "Keiji did some things he wasn't proud of; as I'm sure you understand." She stated quietly and Kenshin nodded remorsefully. "there was an older couple who refused to cooperate with Keiji, and he killed them."

"It turns out that they had a son Keiji didn't know about, who was hidden behind a screen. That poor child had to witness his parents' death." She stopped to take a few deep breaths.

"Did he seek revenge?" Kenshin questioned angrily, as Amaya nodded.

"A few years back, he had tracked Keiji down, as well as my parents. He got to them first; probably to make Keiji suffer the same fate that he was dealt. He was concerned for my own safety. That's when I learned how to fight; and it was a good thing, too. We wandered, like you, for our safety. But Kana still found Keiji, while I had wandered to a market for some food."

"Miss Kamai!" Kenshin shouted, worried, "Why didn't you say something sooner? You were going to leave!"

"I have to!" She defended herself. "When I found Keiji, he was fatally wounded. In his last moments he warned me that Kana would not stop until he killed everybody that Keiji loved, which means that I'm in danger. I would never forgive myself if somebody else got in the middle of this mess and got hurt!"

"But we can protect you!" He grabbed her hand and walked her back to the Aoiya. "No arguments, you're safer with us than by yourself. You're staying with us at Tokyo."


End file.
